Review over walk-in centre closures

The closure of NHS walk-in centres has been in part blamed for the current crisis in emergency services

Health officials are to launch a review into the closures of NHS walk-in centres.

Regulator Monitor said that it will assess whether the closures are "in the best interests of patients".

Experts plan to examine whether the closure of such centres have limited patients' ability to choose where and when they access routine or urgent care without an appointment.

The crisis in emergency services has in part been attributed to the closure of such centres.

Catherine Davies, executive director of co-operation and competition at Monitor, said: "It is in the interests of patients to find out why walk-in centres are closing and whether the closures are affecting patient choice and competition.

"Walk-in centres are very popular with patients and the potential impact of such closures at a local and national level needs to be better understood."

The centres - which treat minor illnesses and injuries without an appointment - were a flagship policy of the previous Labour government.

According to the NHS Choices website, the walk-in centres "have proved to be a successful complementary service to traditional GP and A&E services".

Some of the high-profile closures in recent years include two London-based centres in Tooting and Victoria.

The new Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are now responsible for providing such urgent primary care in their communities.